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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spring — of water
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. file — a document
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. spring — the season
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. court — of law
  13. file — a tool
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of a king
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rash — a series
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. file — a line of people
  24. foot — a measure

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com